Effect of reaction-time feedback on subject performance in the item-recognition task

Two experiments investigated the effect of performance feedback when testing recognition memory for short prememorized lists. Subjects were provided with either response-accuracy or response-latency feedback on a trial-by-trial basis. Payoff in both conditions depended solely upon accuracy performance. Subjects familiarized with their latencies responded faster than subjects given only accuracy feedback. There was no speed-accuracy trade-off. These results are discussed with reference to similar data from the choice reaction-time task. It is concluded that failure to provide subjects with adequate feedback on all aspects of this task is a serious oversight. This oversight is particularly surprising in those designs focusing upon speed.